According to the Orange County’s 2001 Gaps Analysis there are 19,740 homeless in Orange County with a population of 2,846,289. I grew up in Laguna Beach, Orange County. I was fortunate to grow up in environment which had a very small population of homeless. When I moved to Chico for school I was amazed by the large population of homeless. Since my arrival in Chico, I have always felt a great need to help the homeless. I began to feel this way when I realized my handouts of two to five dollars now and then were not going to make a significant different to very many homeless. The assigned mandatory senior project gave me an opportunity to conjure up an idea to help a particular population that I thought needed it the most.

Statement of Need

Due to the increasing population of the homeless in the Chico area, I decided to asses the needs of the homeless. I began to interview the homeless in our local surrounding areas. The last question to all my interviews was, besides shelter what was another one of their needs? The main response from all the individuals I interviewed was shampoo and moisturizers. One of the homeless people I interviewed said that she needed more than water to clean off the dirt she lived in. After this assessment, I have come to find that hygiene is a main concern of the homeless population. 

According to local food and housing shelters Chico’s current population is estimated to be some where around 300 people. It is difficult to have an exact number of the homeless population. Individuals who live on their friend’s couches or in their own cars are considered to be homeless, but are difficult to be accounted for. 

For my project, I gathered as many hygiene products as possible. I know that my project will not give permanent but only temporary relief to the entire homeless population. Even though it is temporary relief, I will display how every little can make a difference. 

Description of the Intervention

Due to hygiene being one of the homeless main concerns, I knew the best thing for me to do was to inquire about donations from physician’s offices and different Internet company sites. After e-mailing numerous corporations from Fruit of the Loom underwear to Tampax, I did not receive one single response. At this point I knew I would have more luck with physician’s offices. 

Since I was more familiar with a numerous group of physicians in Orange County, I decided to work down there. I made many visits and phone calls to different offices. I informed each physician of my project and topic of concern. Most of them were just as generous as I had anticipated. A dermatologist that I had previously worked with was the most generous providing most of the soaps and deodorants. After all my visits, I had finally collected a good amount of hygiene products. During this process I collected shampoos, dandruff products, deodorants, face cleansers, soaps, different types of lotions, and sunscreen.

It is because I started my project very early on in the semester that I decided I had time to collect used clothing from families in Chico and Orange County. I was very fortunate to know most of my community because this made it easier to collect clothing. I called or walked to their homes and informed them of my project. They were more than happy to help. I found that many of them preferred to give me clothing than the Salvation Army. It put many of them at ease that the clothing was not going to be sold but given to the homeless on a need basis. 

Evaluation of the Intervention

I placed one of each hygiene product in a clear zip- lock bag. The shelter that I was working with requested clear bags instead of paper brown bags. The reason for this was it would be obvious that each individual is receiving the same type of products. I was able to make 75 baggies filled with hygiene products. At a local shelter they feed the homeless twice-daily breakfast and dinner. I chose to pass out the bags during breakfast. As each person received breakfast they would walk over to me and I would hand them a baggie. I was glad that I chose breakfast because it seemed that everyone was able to receive a bag. 

I took all the clothing that I had collected to another shelter that provides shelter and clothing. I was only able to donate the clothing for this part of my project. I was fortunate enough to take a quick tour of the facility. Being able to see how the clothing will be displayed for the homeless gave me comfort that it would be put to good use. 

Reflections on the Project

I was disappointed to find out that big corporations did not have time to give me any type of response toward my needs. I am pleased with the results of my project. I feel that before my departure from Chico in May that I have done my part for the community. The smiles on the people faces who received the bags and clothing made all my efforts worthwhile. 

References

Orange County(2001)Homeless prevention and related programs. Retrieved on March 28, 2002 from http://www.oc.ca.gov/new/homeprevent/datainfo.html  

Interviews
Coordinator, Local Homeless Center

Head Administrator, Shelter Partnership

Homeless, age 40

Homeless, age 55

Homeless, age 47

Homeless, age 43

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